The Only Cure I Need for the Common Cold

Two days ago, I woke up with that terribly familiar, not feeling good feeling — foggy-headedness, sinus pressure, swollen lymph nodes on the neck, and general screw-this-I’m-staying-in-bed-all-day crumminess. I had caught a cold. On the day my husband was returning home from a week-long camping trip, no less. Nnnoooo!

But, no big deal, really. I knew just what to do. I’d kick this cold, before it ever knew what hit it. I groggily stumbled over to the fridge, reached in for a little bottle of fermented fish innards, and downed a big spoonful. Washed it down with a sip of water, and resigned myself to the couch, confident that I was on my way to feeling better.

And I’m so not kidding about the fermented fish innards. I’m talkin’ about the one, the only, fermented cod liver oil.

Fermented Cod Liver Oil?

As gross as that sounds, cod liver oil really isn’t all that weird. You may have heard of it before. If you’re familiar with the Weston A. Price Foundation, you almost certainly have. It’s a traditional food, used as a supplement for vitamins A and D, and as a support for overall health. Just as it sounds, it’s oil extracted from the livers of cod fish.

Dr. Weston A. Price discovered that cod liver oil was considered a “sacred food” by some of the traditional cultures he studied. (Also sacred to most cultures? Butter!) The cod liver oil helped to ensure abundant fertility and radiant health in the people who partook of it.

But around the time of the industrial food revolution, the production of cod liver oil became not so traditional. Instead of naturally fermenting the fish livers to get all the good nutrients out of them, supplement manufacturers started extracting the oil in a way that strips out key vitamins like A and D, which then required synthetic versions of these vitamins to be added back in. The result is something that isn’t nearly the superfood cod liver oil once was, and that’s the kind of cod liver oil you’ll find in stores today.

Luckily, the real deal — old-fashioned, naturally fermented cod liver oil — is still available (if you know where to look).

What does all this stuff about oily fish livers have to do with treating a cold, you wonder?

How Cod Liver Oil Cures a Cold

We all know that colds are caused by cold viruses, spread through contact with others infected with them.

But you don’t get a cold because you’re around snotty-nosed kids who have colds. You get them because your immune system is impaired and unable to fend off the attack of the virus. Exposure to the virus itself doesn’t mean that getting the cold is inevitable.

One of the most proven, surefire ways to support immune function is to ensure optimal levels of vitamin D in the body. People with significantly low levels of vitamin D have been shown to be far more susceptible to getting cold and flu viruses than those with acceptable levels of vitamin D. (source) It’s very clear, scientifically-speaking, that the higher your levels of vitamin D, the less likely you’ll be to suffer from the sickness of a cold.

And, if you already have a cold, vitamin D will even help get rid of it. That’s because vitamin D is a very potent antimicrobial agent against viruses, fungi, and bacteria — it produces hundreds of different types of antimicrobial peptides that kill those things off in your body.

Trouble is, the most effective form of vitamin D is synthesized by your own body through sun exposure — which is pretty hard to come by in most parts of the world during cold season!

Thankfully, this is where cod liver oil comes into play. Naturally fermented cod liver oil is loaded with vitamin D, as well as synergistically-beneficial vitamin A. Just a small amount of fermented cod liver oil can give you all the cold-kicking vitamin D you need.

How Much Vitamin D Do You Need?

Government recommendations are at about 600 IU for the RDA of vitamin D for adults, and 400 for children. That’s pretty much just enough to prevent serious deficiency-related disease (rickets), not the amount that’s going to optimize the health of your immune system. This is pretty typical for FDA recommendations.

The Weston A Price Foundation recommends much higher amounts of vitamin D, with an appropriate ratio of vitamin A. Fermented cod liver oil is an ideal source of these critical vitamins in the proper ratio. The WAPF recommends the following allowances for vitamin D:

For anyone needing higher amounts of vitamin D to combat stress and disease: Up to 9,000-18,000 IUs.

Okay, but… this stuff has to be totally disgusting, right?

I was convinced of the benefits of cod liver oil long before I was convinced I could actually swallow the stuff without gagging. I mean, come on! Fermented cod liver oil? How much more gross could it sound?!

Well, here’s the crazy part about my fermented cod liver oil of choice (and yes, that would be the nasty-looking goo pictured above) — it tastes delicious.

I was relieved to find out that they do make it in capsule form, which would be easy to take, but is more expensive than the bottled variety. Then I realized there’s a special kind of cod liver oil that sounded right up my alley — it’s mixed with butter oil!

Apparently, Dr. Price discovered that high-vitamin butter oil makes fermented cod liver oil much more effective. So, it’s available as a mix of the two superfoods, with a variety of flavor options to chose from. I love the cinnamon kind. When I was on GAPS and totally deprived of my normal sweet treats, my cinnamon FCLO/BO blend was like candy to me. There’s zero fishy taste. Just delicious, buttery cinnamonness.

Where to Find Fermented Cod Liver Oil

There’s actually only one company in the whole world that makes truly natural and fermented, high-vitamin cod liver oil (including the tasty cinnamon-flavored kind I love).

Oh, and if you were wondering, the threat of my impending cold lasted about a day and a half. The worst symptom I got was just general sluggishness. No congestion, no piles of kleenex, no cough syrup. All I needed was an extra dose of my cod liver oil cure!

Do you take fermented cod liver oil?

PAID ENDORSEMENT DISCLOSURE: I may receive monetary compensation or other types of remuneration for my endorsement, recommendation, testimonial and/or link to any products or services from this blog, including Amazon.com links. I only recommend products I genuinely love, and that I believe would be of value to my readers. Thank you for your support!

MEDICAL DISCLOSURE: Your health is between you and your health care practitioner. Nothing in this blog is intended for the treatment or prevention of disease, nor as a substitute for medical treatment, nor as an alternative to medical advice. Use of recommendations is at the choice and risk of the reader.

I started taking Green Pastures cod liver oil about 2 months ago. The first jar I bought was cinnamon tingle and you couldn’t even taste fish at all. I could tell a little difference but honestly I just started eating right about that time too so it’s hard to say what “right” thing is working…I have heard from many sources though that it’s awesome and I have not been sick even though people around me have been. Word of advice..never ever ever get the chocolate flavor. It was the only one they had at Amazon so I bought it through them and it is so GROSS …go straight to the Green Pastures site and buy it. Love your blog!

The cinnamon is so good! I had always ordered online and thus got the cinnamon flavour, but then I discovered that someone sold it locally for even cheaper. But…. no cinnamon flavour. So, I got what they had – chocolate cream. Couldn’t be that bad, could it? BLECH, ARGH UEWeHSLGK …. oh my goodness. It’s like a nasty trick. You think you’re having chocolate, instead you get smelly chocolate covered fish.

We have all recently started taking green pastures fclo in capsule form as it seems to be the only one available online in the UK. They also sell the one combined with butter oil, how much better is it to use this instead, or is it ok to just make sure we have enough butter in our daily diet?

Hi Lu,
The butter oil is supposed to make the fermented cod liver oil more effective. Apparently it contains something Dr Price described as Activator X and that does the trick – I’m sure if you google it you’ll find the explanation – we take the blend due to the positive things we’ve read about it.

I think Activator X has to to w/vit. K, which a particular butter is rich in: butter from cows grazing green pastures in spring. I found Organic Valley pasture butter in my health-food store–expensive, yes, but extremely delicious, like the butter I grew up eating in Norway (I had to force the issue, because margarine was big).

I love my FCLO and take it daily and definitely attribute it to my good health and the fact that I haven’t really gotten sick once since I’ve been taking it daily. Just as you were talking about, I’ve gotten that “I’m getting sick” feeling a couple times and upped my dosage and never got fully sick! Like another poster said, I think it is a combination of my healthy diet and the CLO which I started around the same time. I too take the cinnamon flavor which is definitley the BEST one, I don’t know if I would tell people that it’s delicous though! I feel like thats stretching it a little bit and they might by suprised when they taste it. I’ve done the ginger flavor too and its pretty awful and fishy and the cinnamon is amazing compared to that but I still wouldn’t quite call it delicious, hehe, I would say its palatable If it gets on your clothes or hands though it still leaves a very fishy smell.

I think for being fermented fish liver, it’s pretty darned delicious. Lol. But okay, I mean, if you were to compare it to apple pie or chocolate ice cream, or grass-fed steak, alright, no. It’s not that delicious.

I can find the Green pastures link, no problem. What I can’t find is a FCLO/butter oil blend that is non-capsule, cinnamon flavor. They have the combo in capsules OR the cinnamon flavored FCLO, but no combo, flavored, non-capsule that I can see. WHAT am I missing?

I have been buying GP Chocolate Creme FCLO for the past year and a half, but I can’t stand the smell of it. I buy it for my kids so they can take their 1/2 teaspoon every night before bed. I’ve been afraid to try a different flavor for fear that it would taste/smell just as nasty to me, and that the kids would refuse to take it. I had decided to leave well enough alone and stick with a flavor that I knew works for them. Maybe next time I order I’ll try a bottle of cinnamon, if it is as palatable as some of you claim.

Oh, I have to comment on this one. I have the cinnamon tingle FCLO/BO blend and EWWWW!!! It’s so gross!! I bought that flavor because it’s said to be the best tasting. I stick with it because, if this is the best tasting one, I don’t even want to look at another flavor.

Oh, man, it’s absolutely revolting. *shudder*

I have to keep my in the fridge so that it hardens, then scoop out little pill-size balls with a butter knife, scrape it off on my teeth, and slam it down my throat whole (with a big gulp of kombucha) without having it touch my tongue. Kombucha, by the way, is the only thing that covers the taste enough to keep me from puking it all over.

That’s so weird, cause I don’t taste fishiness at all. Even if I chew it around in my mouth and swallow without water. Although, I do notice a difference in taste when it’s room temperature versus cold and refrigerated. If you don’t already, maybe try refrigerating it? It also swallows/goes down much easier that way.

I totally agree. I have tried cinnamon and chocolate and while cinnamon is tons better than chocolate, it still gets me close to gagging. I do it the same way as Diane, I take a spoonful of refrigerated FCLO/BO, then, while holding my nose, I scrape it off with my teeth and then down it with my smoothie or some raw milk. I swish a mouthful of smoothie around my mouth and then I’m only left with a slight cinnamon hint (I loooove cinnamon by the way) which is ok. I try not to let it touch my lips as that makes the flavour stick around. For me it’s not just the flavour, it’s the texture that makes me feel ill. It’s just too oily.
My kids will down it in a similar way to me.
I also prefer taking it at night because I have had fishy burps on occasion and that made me feel very self-conscious.

I totally agree. While I loooove cinnamon, I would not call the cinnamon tingle flavour delicious by any stretch of the imagination. It’s pretty gross. It’s not just the fishy aftertaste, it’s the texture. Ewwww! I keep mine refridgerated and do it similar to you, I take it of the spoon with my teeth and swallow it quickly without really letting it touch the inside of my tongue and immediately chase it with a strongly flavoured tropical juice. I also take it just before bed as I get fishy burps afterwards.
However, I feel it’s worth it for the benefits.

I am with you, Diane! I also have the FCLO/BO cinnamon tingle and it is disgusting. I hope to get used to it. I just got it and had my first dose today, and I used the same technique to take it, also chasing with kombucha. But I still found myself gagging like crazy after and ran to the bathroom for fear of vomiting. I ended up quelling the urge to vomit by eating a scone, which helped finish clear out the flavor of the FCLO.

I think it’s so funny how some people find certain flavors horribly disgusting, and have 0 problem with others. Most people gag at the chocolate flavor, but I’ve heard of a few that actually like it. It’s the opposite with the cinnamon—most people think it’s totally tolerable or that it even tastes good.

Did you learn that trick from Sarah (the Healthy Home Economist)? She makes it look so easy! I’m almost tempted to try the liquid FCLO and then take butter oil separately, since I think it’s cheaper that way. But I don’t know… I think I like my cinnamon gel too much!

For the longest time I was taking the capsules. I finally broke down and ordered some Ginger in liquid form when they were discontinuing it, but alas they changed my order to licorice because they ran out of Ginger. Oh LUCKY DAY!!! I love the Licorice flavor, I am always so tempted to just take a big chug instead of measuring my tsp and taking it. Never once have I tasted fish or had fishy after taste. My 4 year old granddaughter asks if she can have a spoonful, she even likes it. mmmmmmm pretty good, that is what she has to say.

Hmmm… I don’t get sick often but I normally just up my dose of kefir or colloidal silver if I do start to get sick, but I like the thought behind the fermentation of the cod liver oil. I think I will start out trying the capsules, as they should be easy to swallow and I don’t want to waste my money if I don’t like the flavor (I am real picky about flavors and probably would have purchased the chocolate one, haha, thanks for the advice on how bad it was!)

I got sick this past Monday. I woke up with a throbbing sore throat. It was quite deadly. Gargling at least 5,493 times helped for the time being as well as eating and drinking anything but then when I stopped or began talking it came back!

I had a fever of 101 on Monday night but that dropped to 99 the next morning so no worries there. I’ve been blowing snot into toilet paper more than I ever have in a single week. Today I am coughing a bit. I feel better for sure as a sore throat is the worst.

This all started when I got a bee sting about 2.5 months ago. It was fine for a couple days and didn’t even hurt when I got it! Then it swelled up. Sitting in the hot sun for 3 hours made it go away. Then I got hives! Finally after 5 weeks of getting hives off and on I made a connection to cold exposure.

I’m allergic to the cold! For realz! Look up cold urcaria in wikipedia – that’s me

And now I am sick. It’s not horrible but it’s looooong. I don’t recall ever being sick for this long. I’ve actually been sick ONCE in the PAST 8 YEARS! And that was when it was unavoidable. Literally.

I just don’t get sick.

Do you think it’s possible that this damn bee fucked up my immune system so bad that is why I got sick so randomly?

I have no complaints though. I mean, I have a perfectly reasonable excuse to live in Austin, TX from October 17 to November 20 and then after Thanksgiving go to the carribean or something. Or, perhaps, Hawaii for 2 to 3 weeks before I consider coming back for a few nights for Christmas.

Did I just leave the longest comment ever? Maybe. For me. I enjoyed writing it though.

Just a tiny bee… that ramed his stinger near my shoulder while running. And, to top it off I was wearing a sleeveless shirt that day and I NEVER wear them. I maybe have 12 times total in my life. Had I been wearing a regular t-shirt I would not have gotten stung.

But, I like my allergy. I mean, again, I have an excuse to say, peace ya’ll I need to go on a cruise in the carribbean for 2 weeks because it’s freaking cold in Michigan and I am allergic to the cold.

Isn’t this kind of cool?

If I walk outside in 54 degree weather in the Sun I’ll get hives on my hands and ears. No joke.

I have just started taking cod liver oil. I’m not taking the fermented kind. But after I read this, I ran into my kitchen to get the CLO for my daughter who’s been fighting off a cold for more than a week… sadly, she was already in bed asleep. I’ll try tomorrow and we’ll see if we can’t kick this thing….

my entire family takes the oslo orange flavor of the green pastures FCLO. my son and i can take it straight with no problem but my daughter and husband need to chase it with raw milk. then they are fine. i recommend the oslo orange. cinnamon was ok but i like this better. the spicy orange Fermented skate oil isn’t bad either. just my 2cents.

Good for you! You can actually rub the oil onto your baby’s bottom and he’ll absorb it through his skin. That’s what the makers of the fermented cod liver oil say to do for babies and young children who can’t/won’t take it orally. But I would imagine he would still be getting an increase in vitamin D from your milk, too.

Usually people with dairy allergies can tolerate butter oil just fine. Even on the GAPS diet, ghee is allowed before any other dairy because it doesn’t contain any actual milk solids… it’s pure fat. The butter oil in the fermented cod liver oil blend is basically super-concentrated ghee (but it’s made differently with centrifuging, as opposed to heat). You probably would be fine with it, but you could always just get the plain FCLO instead.

Yes, big difference. Normal cod liver oil that you’ll find in stores has been processed so much that most of the nutrients (like the vitamin D) have been stripped, so synthetic vitamins are added back in.

The fermented cod liver oil is produced the way it was traditionally made for centuries before the modern processing methods. It’s loaded with natural vitamins that your body easily assimilates and can used to boost immunity. It’s more expensive, but it’s well worth every penny, in my opinion.

Good question! The WAPF says a dose of up to 18,000 IU of vitamin D can be used for fighting “stress and disease,” which equates to over 9 teaspoons (3 tablespoons) of fermented cod liver oil. That’s a ton. I’ve never taken that much at once, but, it wouldn’t hurt. If I haven’t been taking it regularly, and I start to feel a cold, I’ll take about a tablespoon (3 teaspoons) and do that again later or the next day if I feel I need it.

[…] We read about Vitamin D in the news a lot, but we rarely read about the fact that fermented cod liver oil is an excellent source of natural Vitamin D. Emily at Butter Believer explains how it can be a cure for the common cold. […]

This isn’t food advice, but you ought to know that bouncing on a rebounder for 5-10 min. is likely to kill any onset of flu or cold. If you get sick anyway, you’ll notice that every time you bounce you feel MUCH better afterwards. My family and I unclog plugged-up sinuses in 1 to 2 min. on the rebounder–this has a 100% success rate after years of observation. Baby bounces are just as effective for this as big or hard and fast bouncing.

[…] common cold cure. wait. what? try it see if it works. (hint: we do this, it does work, colds, viruses rarely last longer than 12-24 hours for us.) where to buy the secret ingredient listed in the post (from the GAPS store) […]

Me my 2 kids take the mint in the syringe and we don’t mind it at all, leaves a slight mint taste afterwards! Hubby takes the capsules. Now we just need to take it faithfully. Which after reading this shouldn’t be hard! Thank you!

I’ve been taking the cinnamon tinged FCLO for over 3 years now. The first time I tasted it, I thought yuk! It was grainy, strong cinnamon flavor, and tasted the fishy flavor after I swallowed it. However, I kept with it because I heard how good it was for you.

Subsequent jars of FCLO was lot smoother and I grew to like it. The owner told me there could be difference in texture and taste from batch to batch due to when the fish were caught and processed.

Whenever I feel a cold coming on, I have my husband put 10 drops of hydrogen perioxide in both ears.

I’ve seen others recommend it too but some don’t. I know Chris Kresser recommends it, but Matt Stone and the Jaminets don’t. What do you think about what Matt Stone says about it?

Matt: Like almost all things ingestible, there are pros and cons. The pros are the high vitamin D and vitamin A content. And there are benefits to omega 3 fatty acids. There are also negatives to omega 3 fatty acids, as they are highly volatile fatty acids that oxidize more quickly in the human body, leading to lipid peroxidation and an accelerated rate of aging. I wouldn’t say it was a habit of many traditional peoples to take cod liver oil. The ones that did lived at very high latitudes. Most people would be better off just eating a little wild-caught salmon from time to time and spending a lot of time in the sun without sunscreen to obtain some of the benefits of cod liver oil. I certainly don’t take it.

When I lived in Hawaii, and got plenty of vitamin D from the sun, I only took cod liver oil when I felt a cold coming on. You have to spend a LOT of time in the sun without sunscreen to get adequate vitamin D from sun alone, and even in Hawaii, I couldn’t always get enough (because life gets in the way). I also was eating plenty of fatty fish.

I do not think it’s absolutely essential that everyone takes cod liver oil. I definitely agree that there are downsides. If you are eating quite a lot of protective saturated fats, like in butter and coconut oil especially, I don’t think that a relatively healthy person needs to worry about the potential oxidation of the omega 3s of CLO. Coconut oil has very strong antioxidant effects, as does astaxanthin which I think is a beneficial supplement to add to the CLO.

Thanks! I’ve also heard some say they’ve noticed it really helps keep their teeth and gums healthier (less plaque). Have you heard that too or noticed anything like that since you’ve been taking the FCLO/BO blend?

When my mother was a child the school system in Newfoundland used to give kids bottles of cod liver oil to take home. The funny thing is she told me some of those bottles never made it home. There was a big rock that many a bottle of cod liver oil got smashed on! I know she used to try and get me to take it an it when I was a kid. It is nasty straight up! Thank goodness they are flavouring it now, maybe I should give it a try again?

I am so glad to hear that others thought the chocolate flavor was nasty! I can barely stomach it, and my daughter won’t eat it either. I was afraid that meant all the flavors would be that horrible. Now I have the courage to try a different one!

I got a bottle of the fclo/butter blend chocolate cream and it is disgusting. I don’t want to throw it away as it was expensive! Has anyone figured out a way to make this palatable? Any/All recommendations gratefully received!

really? I actually like the chocolate the best – I tried the cinnamon “tingle”. I renamed it the cinnamon “burn” – boy did that stuff do a number on my throat.

After the cinnamon I switched to unflavored and didn’t mind it at all. One time my sister accidentally ordered the chocolate flavor and we have been loving it ever since. I take my does every morning with my first gulp of tea.

Every time I read about fermented cod liver oil I’m convinced I NEED to buy it for my family. BUT money is tight, VERY tight at the moment and I need to be sure I can actually get it into everyone’s little bodies. My 4 year old is VERY sensitive to textures and “spicy-ness.” I’m wondering if you think it would be a good option to mix it in a smoothie or a small amount of juice? Is the flavor just too strong to try and mask like that? What about getting the unflavored and putting it on some meat like a gravy? Heating it would probably damage it, though, huh? It sounds like most people think the cinnamon tastes the best and I would be willing to try that for myself and probably my 6 year old, but I’m positive my 4 year old will think it is too spicy. Any advice would be greatly appreciated. Also – if you have an in with Green Pastures – you should tell them they should offer some sort of little sample pack of their flavors so we don’t drop so much money on something we end up hating!

Please don’t feel like you “NEED” to buy anything! I’ve felt that way before, and felt guilty over not buying certain things, and that’s just no fun and really not a good perspective to have.

Another option would be to get in a good amount of grass-fed liver, if you have that available to you. Should have plenty of vitamin D and balanced A that will go a long way in helping to support the immune system.

But about the FCLO, yes I would say it would be “spicy” to a sensitive 4-year-old, and I think that would be a great idea if GP offered samples! I am not sure about mixing into a smoothie or juice, or the unflavored into something more savory, but maybe someone else can comment on that?

Best of luck, Ellie. I will try to post this on Facebook to get some more answers for you.

I’ve been taking this for 2 years but have recently been reading A LOT about PUFA’s including DHA. mostly Ray Peat articles. What are you thoughts on the PUFA’s from FLCO? I have not seen an article where Dr. Peat specifically talks about FCLO but he does have a few articles about how toxic and dangerous regular fish oil consumption is. It got me a bit worried as I am pregnant and he writes that PUFAs including DHA prevent progesterone from entering the pregnant womb and increases estrogen’s ability to enter. Progesterone being crucial for brain development…

I believe in WAPF but I also believe in the enormous amount of scientific knowledge that Dr Peat possesses. I wish I could get his two cents on FCLO. Perhaps you know?

Greetings,
I wanted to take a moment to share a comment on this Cod Liver Oil Article.
The basis of Matt Stones nutritional endocrine information is directly taken from Ray Peat’s articles, and insights on healing, and prevention of disease.
If you read Ray Peat’s perspectives on oils, and fish oils, you will read an understanding of how fish oils are cancer causing.
Sharing the best of my understandings,in health healing and prevention, with you.
Rhonda

I know Matt well and while he definitely has been influenced by Peat, I wouldn’t at all say that the basis of his information is taken directly from Peat’s articles. But yes, neither are fans of cod liver oil—I’m aware of that. I don’t think Matt would agree with Peat’s claims that go so far as to say the stuff is cancer-causing, however.

I actually do not take fermented cod liver oil anymore, for reasons that don’t have to do with Peat’s claims. I’ll be publishing another article soon to explain. Thanks for your comment!

Fermented cod liver oil sounds gross but I love cinnamon as well so I may want to try that! Right now I just take fish oil (in capsule form) because I did not know there was a difference between the two. I figured fish oil is just as good because it contains omega-3s and DHA but it does not contain Vitamin A and Vitamin D like cod liver oil does.
It makes sense that Vitamin D can help fight against a cold because I know that in the winter time is when I am at the highest risk for getting sick because I am not exposed to much sun light and not getting enough Vitamin D.